Spelling Words by Grade
Every grade list we use, in one place — from kindergarten sight words to competition spelling bee words. Pick a grade below, or use the picker for a random word to spell.
Press the button
Tip: keep this page open on a phone and pass it around.
Spelling Words by Grade — full list (394 words)
Kindergarten (49)
- cat
- dog
- sun
- run
- big
- red
- hat
- sit
- mom
- dad
- see
- the
- and
- you
- my
- go
- we
- it
- is
- can
- me
- no
- yes
- look
- at
- him
- her
- play
- ball
- book
- milk
- fish
- tree
- blue
- green
- jump
- stop
- hand
- help
- want
- come
- here
- like
- love
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
1st Grade (48)
- because
- before
- around
- again
- always
- been
- both
- bring
- carry
- clean
- could
- done
- draw
- drink
- eight
- fall
- far
- full
- grow
- hold
- hurt
- keep
- kind
- laugh
- light
- long
- much
- myself
- never
- only
- own
- pick
- seven
- small
- start
- today
- together
- try
- warm
- write
- yellow
- your
- zoo
- about
- after
- any
- as
- ask
2nd Grade (49)
- above
- almost
- along
- began
- being
- below
- better
- between
- certain
- city
- close
- cold
- country
- course
- decide
- different
- during
- early
- earth
- enough
- even
- every
- example
- family
- father
- finally
- follow
- found
- friend
- group
- heard
- high
- himself
- important
- inside
- knew
- large
- learn
- leave
- life
- might
- moment
- mountain
- music
- night
- number
- often
- order
- paper
3rd Grade (50)
- afternoon
- against
- already
- although
- answer
- beautiful
- beginning
- believe
- birthday
- calendar
- carefully
- caught
- chocolate
- climb
- clothes
- complete
- continue
- dinner
- doctor
- dollar
- evening
- everyone
- everything
- famous
- favorite
- finished
- guess
- happened
- interesting
- kitchen
- language
- lesson
- library
- listen
- machine
- minute
- morning
- museum
- nurse
- ocean
- people
- picture
- popular
- probably
- question
- quiet
- really
- remember
- restaurant
- science
4th Grade (50)
- accomplish
- achievement
- address
- advantage
- advertisement
- ambition
- appreciate
- argument
- association
- athlete
- audience
- autumn
- benefit
- boundary
- brilliant
- business
- campaign
- category
- challenge
- character
- community
- company
- competition
- concentrate
- conclusion
- confidence
- conversation
- courageous
- curiosity
- decision
- definitely
- delicious
- department
- describe
- develop
- dictionary
- difference
- difficult
- disappoint
- discipline
- discover
- discussion
- distance
- education
- elevator
- emergency
- employee
- encourage
- energy
- engineer
5th Grade (50)
- accommodate
- acknowledge
- acquaintance
- acquire
- aggressive
- apparent
- appearance
- assassination
- basically
- changeable
- colleague
- committed
- congratulate
- conscience
- conscientious
- controversy
- desperate
- dilemma
- disastrous
- embarrass
- environment
- exaggerate
- excellence
- existence
- experience
- foreign
- forty
- fulfill
- gauge
- genius
- government
- grammar
- guarantee
- harassment
- height
- hierarchy
- humorous
- ignorance
- immediate
- independent
- indispensable
- intelligence
- jewelry
- judgment
- knowledge
- liaison
- license
- lightning
- maintenance
- maneuver
Hard Words (48)
- medieval
- millennium
- miniature
- mischievous
- misspell
- noticeable
- occasion
- occurrence
- parallel
- parliament
- pastime
- perseverance
- personnel
- possess
- precede
- preferred
- privilege
- pronunciation
- publicly
- questionnaire
- receipt
- receive
- recommend
- referred
- relevant
- rhyme
- rhythm
- ridiculous
- sacrilegious
- schedule
- separate
- sergeant
- sincerely
- successor
- surprise
- temperature
- threshold
- tongue
- truly
- twelfth
- unnecessary
- vacuum
- vehicle
- weird
- wherever
- whether
- bureaucracy
- camouflage
Spelling Bee (50)
- abattoir
- aberration
- abhorrence
- abstemious
- accede
- acolyte
- adjudicate
- aficionado
- alacrity
- allegory
- anachronism
- ancillary
- animosity
- antediluvian
- apocryphal
- archipelago
- assiduous
- astringent
- audacious
- auxiliary
- avarice
- bellicose
- benevolent
- cacophony
- camaraderie
- capitulate
- capricious
- celerity
- chagrin
- chicanery
- clandestine
- cognizant
- colloquial
- compunction
- conflagration
- connoisseur
- contiguous
- corollary
- crescendo
- cryptic
- deleterious
- demagogue
- desiccate
- diaphanous
- dichotomy
- didactic
- disingenuous
- ebullient
- egregious
- elucidate
Get the K-5 spelling pack
All grade lists in one printable PDF — kindergarten through 5th grade, plus hard words and spelling bee practice.
No spam. One or two emails a month, unsubscribe anytime.
How to play
- Start with 5-8 words a week for younger children and 10-20 by 3rd grade. Short daily practice beats one long session.
- Say the word, use it in a sentence, then let the child write it. Retest only the ones they missed.
- Group words by spelling pattern (silent e, double letters, -ight) instead of alphabetically — one rule is easier than 20 unrelated words.
- Keep a running list of their personal misspellings. Five of their own words beat twenty from a worksheet.
FAQ
How many spelling words should a child learn per week?
Kindergarten and 1st grade: 5-8 words. 2nd grade: about 10. 3rd to 5th grade: 15-20. Accuracy matters more than volume.
What are the hardest spelling words?
Words with silent letters, double consonants and borrowed spellings: rhythm, conscience, maintenance, bureaucracy, camouflage.
Should spelling words be alphabetical?
No. Grouping by pattern (silent e, -ough, double letters) teaches the underlying rule instead of memorising 20 unrelated words.
How do I test spelling at home?
Read the word, use it in a sentence, then let the child write it. Mark it together and practise only the missed words the next day.